Method of processing apples



March 16, 1965 B. WOODWARD, JR 3,173,463

METHOD OF PROCESSING APPLES Original Filed Aug. 12. 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTOR. g BERNARD WOODWARD JR.

A TTORNEYS March 16, 1965 B. WOODWARD, JR

METHOD OF PROCESSING was 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 12. 1960INVENTOR.

BY BERNARD WOODWARD JR M -L- ATTORNEYS March 16, 1965 B. WOODWARD, JR3,173,463

METHOD OF PROCESSING APPLES Original Filed Aug. 12. 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet3 Fig. 3

V INVENTOR.

BY BERNARD WOODWARD JR ATTORNEYS B. WOODWARD, JR

METHOD OF PROCESSING APPLES 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 March 16, 1965 OriginalFiled Aug. 12, 1960 I50 '44 l 148 m 238 ,.-|57 15a 1'. I54

5 JNVENTOR. BERNARD WOODWARD JR.

ATTORNEYS March 16, 1965 B. WOODWARD, JR 3,173,453

METHOD OF PROCESSING APPLES Original Filed Aug. 12, 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet5 246 235 I; A liii Fig. 5 I

INVENTOR.

BERNARD WOODWARD JR.

BY m 5% A TTORNEYS March 16, 1965 B. WOODWARD, JR 3,173,463

METHOD OF PROCESSING APPLES Original Filed Aug. 12, 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet6 wow I INVEN TOR. BERNARD WOODWARD JR A TTORNEYS March 16, 1965WQQDWARD, JR 3,173,463

METHOD OF PROCESSING APPLES Original Filed Aug. 12. 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet7 i 1 Jam INVENT OR. Fi g 9 BERNARD WOODWARD JR.

A TTORNEYS March 16, 1965 B, w w JR 3,173,463

METHOD OF PROCESSING APPLES Original Filed Aug. 12. 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet8 Fig. ll

a A I a Ill/I INVENTOR- BERNARD WOODWA RD JR.

A TTORNEYS March 16, 1965 a. WOODWARD, JR 3,173,463

METHOD OF PROCESSING APPLES Original Filed Aug. 12. 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet9 I A o 3 o G) 3 w o w 3 0 j o O Q 0 IO Q- 3 f; INVENTOR. Q BERNARDWOODWARD JR.

A TTORIVEYS United States Patent 3,173,463 METHOD OF PROCESSING APPLESBernard Woodward, In, Rochester, N.Y., assignor to F. B. Pease Company,Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New York Original application Aug. 12,1960, Ser. No. 49,187, new Patent No. 3,134,415, dated May 26, 1964.Divided and this application Mar. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 262,614

3 Claims. (Cl. 146241) This invention relates to an improved method forprocessing apples and is a division of my co-pending application filedAugust 12, 1960, Serial No. 49,187, now Patent No. 3,134,415, one objectof this invention being the provision of a more satisfactory method forprocessing apples.

Because of the large number of apples processed by the food industry forcooking, freezing, canning and related uses, it is desirable to have. amachine which will automatically pare, core, and slice the apple with aminimum of manual handling of the apples during these processes. Inorder to process apples in a manner which will insure a finished productcompletely free of skin and without spoiled spots, it is necessary thatthere be an inspection of all apples s ometime after the coring andparing processes have been accomplished. As used hereinafter it will beunderstood that the terms paring," pared, or the like shall be construedto have the broadest meaning within the definition of WebstersDictionary, i.e., broadly any process of removing the skin of the apple.Following the inspection, it is necessary for the excessskin and spoiledspots of the apples, not removed by automatic paring, to be cut awayfrom theapple manually. It is anobject of my invention to provide methodfor minimizing handling thereof.

There area number of hair-like sprouts commonly referred to as the calyxsurrounding the core on apples at the end opposite the stem, that beingthe blossom or bottom end, which food processors are most anxious tohave removed prior to cooking, because after cooking of the apples,.these hair-like particles present an appearance simulating flyparticlesin the applesauce. During the automatic processing of apples asdescribed above, it is difficult to discover the apples of which thesehairlikd particles have not been removed unless the apple is inspected.while bottom end up. Therefore, it is a further object of my inventionto provide. a method which will orient the apples so that the bottomends of the apples are up while being inspected, following the coringand paring of the apples.

It is also an object of my invention to provide for a controlledorientation of the apple during allphases of processing from the timethe apple is fed into the machine until it is released by the slicermechanism.

A further object of my invention is to provide a method which willminimize the number of personnel necessary to carry out the eificienthigh quality production of pared and cored apples.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved method forinspecting apples for separation of ones requiring additional trimming.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be particularly setforth in the claims and will be apparent from the followingdescriptionof this one embodiment of my invention when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an apple processing machineembodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the machine of FIG. 1showing the drive mechanism for 3,.l73Ah3 Patented Mar. 16, 1965controlling the separate functions of this embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 4is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view ofa paring andcoring unit of my invention as seen from the left with respect to FIG. 1with parts in section;

FIG. 5 is a further enlarged fragmentary right hand side elevationalview of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that shown in FIG. 5 with parts broken awayto illustrate the cam mechanism by which the paring and coring machineunit is controlled with broken line portions illustrating anintermediate position of the cam;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 with different parts broken away toillustrate the cam mechanism in a second intermediate position whereinthis broken line portion illustrates the cam in the position shown insolid lines in FIG. 6; j

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially on theline 88 of FIG. 7 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the coring mechanism of theunit shown in FIG. 5 as seen from the side opposite to that shown inFIG. 5 illustrating the coring blade of the coring mechanism indifferent positions by the use of solid and broken lines;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary-right hand elevational view of a portion of thecoring mechanism shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a view of the retaining mechanism and the ejector mechanismof the unit shown in FIG. 5 as seen from the side opposite to that shownin FIG. 5;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view showing aportion of the apple conveying mechanism and several component parts ofthe slicermachine; and

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 13-13of FIG. 12, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring to FIG. 1, this embodiment of my invention preferably includesa frame generally indicated by the numeral 20 consisting of a pluralityof vertical members 21 and a plurality of horizontal members 23, allwelded or bolted together to form a rigid unit for supporting thecomponent parts of this embodiment of my invention. The describedembodiment mainly comprises eight peeling and coring machine unitsgenerally indicated by the numeral 22, four slicer machine unitsgenerally indicated by the numeral 24 mounted on the frame Zll directlybelow the eight paring and coring units 22, one slicer 24 locatedsubstantially to theright of the other four slicers and directly below atrimmer table generally indicated by the numeral 26 where spoiled areasof the apples and excess skin are trimmed from apples that are rejectedby an inspector as they pass to the right with respect to FIG. 1 on aconveyor belt generally indicated by the numeral 23. I

, I have determined that substantially the maximum efficiency for anapple processing machine of the nature described here which wouldbereadily marketable should include eight paring and coring machineunits, in combination with four slicing machine units provided to slicethe apples that are not rejected bythe inspector andone slicing machineunit provided for slicing the rejected 7 apples after trimming. Withsuch a unit, only two operators are required for feeding 160 apples perminute into the eight paring and coring units, one inspector to checkthe pared and cored apples and reject those requiring additionaltrimming and from one to three trimmers, the norm being two. This meansthat the normal personnelrequirement for this particular unit would befive. Previous machines of this general nature utilized four paring andcoring machine unitsin combination with four slicing machine units andproduced pared, cored and sliced apples per minute or one-half theproduction of the described embodiment. The trimmer personnel of theseold machines had to transfer all apples from the paring and coring unitsto two slicing units. The latter type of machines required one feederand four trimmers for each four units, totaling five operators tooperate a machine producing one-half the quantity of production of thedescribed embodiment of my invention. Thus, my invention reduced thelabor cost by one-half. This is an extensive saving to the appleprocessor who used my invention.

In operation, the apples to be processed are carried on a conveyor belt(not shown) between the frame 20 and the feeder operators standing inthe positions indicated by the numeral 29 (FIG. 2). Each of the twofeeder operators 29 supply apples to four paring and coring units. Thefeeder operators 29 remove the apples from the belt two at a time, andwith one apple in each hand, they place the apples in alternate cups 30and 31 (FIG. 1). After the apples have been positioned in the cups 30and 31, these cups are pivoted backwardly and upwardly as viewed in FIG.1 and the apples are inserted on a spindle or spiked apple holder 136(FIG. 4), after which the apple is pared and cored as will hereinafterbe described in detail. While cups 30 and 31 are being pivoted to theleft and moved upwardly as viewed in FIG. 4, cups 32 and 33 are pivotinginto the position shown in FIG. 1, so that the feeder operators 29 maythen place an apple in each one of these two cups. Cups 32 and 33 arepivoted by means described hereinafter, in the same manner as cups 30and 31, so that cups 32 and 33 are inserting apples on spindles 136 atthe same time that cups 39 and 31 are pivoted into the position shown inFIG. 1. Thus, the feeder operators 29 placing apples in the cups canwork almost continuously placing two at a time alternately in cups 30and 31 and then 32 and 33. The linkage by which cups 3033 areoperatively effective to accomplish the pivotal action just described,will be recited in detail hereinafter under H. After the apple has beeninserted on the spindle 136 it is pared and cored by operationshereinafter described in detail under II and III.

Referring to FIG. 2, after the apples have been pared and cored, theyare deposited in an oriented position on pins 34 rigidly mounted on aconveyor system generally indicated by the numeral 28. The apples arethen transported to the right as viewed in FIG. 1, past an inspectorsitting or standing in the position designated by the circle 35 shown inFIG. 2. A belt 36 having a rough surface and a plurality of cleats 37mounted diagonally thereon travels in an elevated parallel plane withrespect to the conveyor system 28. The belt 36 engages two pulleys 41around which the belt travels to the right as shown in FIG. 2immediately adjacent conveyor belt 28. The pins 34, as will be noted inFIG. 2, are positioned on each segment 38 of conveyor 28 in a positionclose to the side adjacent belt 36. Pins 34 are positioned on segments38 to permit the apples conveyed thereby to overhand each segment 38 andto be engaged by belt 36. As seen in FIG. 1, a small ramp 43 is providedto elevate the apple on the pin 34 to the level of belt 36 as it isbeing conveyed to the right. Belt 36 travels at a different rate ofspeed than conveyor 28 in order to rotate the apples continuously asthey pass in front of the inspector at 35.

It is significant that the apples are placed in the cups 3033 by thefeeder operators 29 in an upright position with the stems extendingupwardly; it is necessary that the apples be properly oriented whenplaced in the cups so that during the various processing phases they canbe maintained in the same oriented position. After the apples are paredand cored, they are deposited on pins 34 in an inverted position bymeans hereinafter described under III and IV. One of the major reasonsfor orienting the apples is so they will be conveyed past the inspectorat 35 in an inverted position. Apples have hair-like sprouts or fuzzsurrounding the blossom end of the apple.

It is undesirable to permit any of this fuzz to get into the applesauce,sliced apples, or other form of processed apples, due to the fact thatafter cooking, these hair-like particles present an appearancesimulating fly specks or fly particles. This makes the purchaser thinkthat the final product has impurities in it. The orientation of theapple in an inverted position for inspection renders any apples notfreed of this fuzz by the paring process more readily detectable by theinspector.

Most of the apples are conveyed by pins 34 directly from the paring andcoring units past the inspector to the slicing units. However, there aresome apples which do not pass inspection. The inspector removes anyapples having any fuzz, spoiled spots, or skin thereon and places themon an endless belt 39 (FIG. 2) traveling to the right as indicated bythe arrow in FIG. 2. A diagonally positioned bar 40 is provided todivert the apples traveling on the belt 39 onto the trimmer table 26where they are picked up by one or more trimmers who remove the fuzz,spoiled spots, or skin not removed in the automatic paring process.

After the apples rejected by the inspector have been completely trimmed,they are each deposited on a shaft 42 projecting through a hole 44, cutin the trimmer table. The apple slides downwardly on shaft 42 (seeFIG. 1) and passes through the slicer mechanism 24, after which it isdeposited on a conveyor belt 46 and transported forwardly as indicatedby an arrow 48 in FIG. 2. Belt 46 deposits the sliced apples onto aconveyor belt 50 travelingin a direction perpendicular to the course oftravel of belt 46 as indicated by arrow 51. Belt 50 carries the slicedapples to a point of further processing, i.e., cooking or freezing.

Conveyor belt 28 continues to move the apples remaining on pins 34 tothe right as viewed in FIG. 1 until it passes over pulley 52. As thebelt moves around pulley 52, pins 34 move in a semi-circular pathterminating in a depending position. The apples are prevented fromfalling off pins 34 by a pair of spaced arcuate guides 53 (FIG. 1)located on the right end of frame 20.

When the pins 34 reach a depending position, the apples transportedthereon slide downwardly on the pins 34 until they engage a horizontallyextending metal pan (not shown) being supported by cross member 23A(FIG. 1); this pan is vertically spaced from pins 34 only a limitedamount to prevent the apples from falling off the pins 34 as they aretransported by conveyor 28 (see FIG. 13).

A plurality of spaced slicing units 24 are located to the left of thispan (not shown) as shown in FIG. 1. Units 24 are provided withvertically oriented shafts 54, 66, 70 and '71 respectively. The drivingmeans controlling the motion of the conveyor 28, to be describedhereinafter in I, is arranged to stop the belt intermittently with pins34 in alignment with these vertically extending shafts, as shown in FIG.13.

When the driving means stops the conveyor 28, retractable slides 57, 63and 64 and a corresponding one (not shown) located above shaft 71 arethen withdrawn, thereby permitting the apples to slide off pins 34 andonto the aligned shafts 54, 66, 70 and 71 which guide the apples intothe slicer.

Four slicing units 24 are provided, spaced three pitches apart, forpurpose of this application, the word pitch refers to the distancebetween pins 34. The conveyor moves four pitches during eachintermittent forward motion. Assuming, for purposes of explanation, thatthe first apple in line is stopped in alignment with shaft 54 andremoved in the manner just described, then the apple on the next pin tothe right of the first apple or the second apple will be advanced fourpitches, of the pins 34, during the next motion of the conveyor 28 intovertical alignment with shaft 66 while the fifth apple will be advancedinto a vertically aligned position with shaft 54. Then the second andfifth apples are removed in the manner described above. The next motionof the conveyor will move the third apple into vertical alignment withshaft 76*, the sixth into alignment with shaft 66 and the ninth inalignment with shaft 54. Then the third, sixth and ninth apples areremoved in the manner described above. The next motion will move thefourth apple in line into vertical alignment with the shaft 71, theseventh into alignment with shaft 70, the tenth into alignment withshaft 66, and the thirteenth into alignment with shaft 54. Thereafter,these last four apples are removed as described above. This operationcontinues to remove all apples from the pins 34%.

This word description of how apples are transferred to shafts 54, 66,7t) and 71 is better illustrated below by the first ten apples in linebeing designated by the numerals l-lltl consecutively, and theconsecutive stops of the conveyor 28 being designated by Roman numeralsin the left-hand columns.

Stops of Conveyor 28 Shaft 71 Shaft 70 Shaft 54 Name It will beunderstood that the intermittent motion of conveyor 28 is coordinatedwith both the paringand coring units 22 and the slicer units 24 so thatall apples will be deposited by the paring and coring units 22 on pins34 and subsequently all apples will be transferred from pins 34 toshafts 54, 66, 7t) and 71 and in turn deposited in the slicer units 24.

I will now describe the mechanics of how these apples are removed. Theslide 57 (shown in cross-section in FIG. 13), has an apple-supportingarea shown in section and the opening 65 through which the apple ispermitted to slide off of pin 34. The slide 57 is located immediatelyabove shaft 54 and supports the apples which are conveyed on pins 34over shaft 54 during motion of conveyor 28; however, when conveyor 28stops, the slide 57 is retracted from the position in which it supportsapples and moved leftwardly as viewed in FIG. 13 to a position where thefirst apple in a series of apples is permitted to pass through theopening 65 onto shaft 54 channels the apple into the slicer mechanism 24where it is sliced and/ or chopped and deposited on the belt 50 (FIG.1). Thereafter, the sliced apple is transported to the right on belt 50as viewed in FIG. 1. After the first apple has dropped off of pin 34onto the shaft 54, the slide 57 closes again.

The operation just described in connection with shaft 54 takes placesimultaneously at shafts 54, .66, 7t and 71 to enable four apples todrop ofi" of pins 34 each time the conveyor 28 stops.

After the slide 57 is closed to the position shown in FIG. 13, theconveyor 28 moves four pitches to the left as viewed in FIG. 12 and thesecond, third, and fourth apples are conveyed over a right-angularsupport 58 (FIG. 12), filling the space between slide 57 and slide 63.The second apple is stopped on slide 63 and the fifth apple is stoppedon slide 57. Slides 57 and 63 are retracted and the second apple istransferred to shaft as and the fifth apple to shaft 54. While theconveyor 28 is not in motion, the third and fourth apples are resting onsupport 58. Two nuts and bolts 59 secure support 58 to a right-angularhorizontal member 65! and a flat metal guide at which aligns the lefthand side of conveyor 28 as viewed in FIG. 13. Member 643 and guide 61,in turn, are rigidly mounted to a vertical frame member 21A by a nut andbolt 62.

The third and fourth apples, supported on support 58 while the conveyor28 is stopped, travel over slide 63 and another right-angular support 68mounted to member 60 in the same manner as support 58 when the conveyor28 is actuated again. After the conveyor 28 has moved four pitches, thethird apple comes to rest on slide 64. The third apple is thentransferred to shaft '70 in the same manner just described and the sixthand ninth apples 6 are respectively transferred to shafts 66 and 54. Arightangular support (not shown), identical to supports 58 and 63, isprovided between shafts 70 and 71 for supporting the apples conveyed byconveyor 23 past shaft 70 and transferred to shaft 71.

By the above operation, it is understood that all apples deposited onall eight cups 304$ of the pairing and coring machineunit-s are pared,cored, trimmed, sliced and deposited on conveyor belt 50, by which theyare carried to a point of further process.

Because of the complexity of the described embodiment of my invent-ion,I have divided the description into five classifications.

1. Drive system II. Paring apparatus III. Coring apparatus g iV.Apparatus for maintaining apples in an oriented position prior to beingtransferred to a conveyor V. Apparatus for transferring apples toconveyor pins The detailed description of the embodiment shown in theaccompanying drawings will be described under one of the above recitedclassifications.

I. Drive system Referring to FIG. 3, a power source 72, preferably anelectric motor, drives a shaft 73 on which is mounted a pulley 74,driving a V-belt 76, in turn driving a somewhat larger pulley 77. Pulley77 is rigidly mounted on a shaft 78' pivotally mounted to the fname 20.A smaller pulley 79 rigidly mounted on shaft 7% drives a ll-belt 86which in turn drives a pulley 82 rigidly mounted on a drive shaft 84having a sprocket 86 and a small gear 38 rigidly mounted thereon.

The gear 88 meshes with and drives a larger gear 90 rigidly mounted on ashaft 91, having a smaller gear 92 rigidly mounted thereon which mesheswith and drives a large gear 93 rigidly mounted on a shaft 94. Thecombination of gears 88, 90, 92 and 93 reduces the speed. of a shaft 94in relationship to the speed of the shaft 84.

Referring to FIG. 1, the gear 5 3 and shaft 94- may be seen therein.Eight bevel gears 96, rigidly mounted on shaft 94 drive the eight paringand coring machine units 22. There are also eight cams 97 and eight cams98 (see FIG. 4) rigidly mounted on shaft 94, one cam 97 and one cam 98being provided for each of the eight paring and coring machine units.The function of these cams will hereinafter be described in detail underII.

Referring to FIG. 3, a sprocket 99 rigidly mounted on shaft 94 drives achain 109, in turn driving a sprocket 102, rigidly mounted on a shaft104 rotatably mounted on frame 2%. This shaft carries eight earns 106and eight cams 1% (see FIG. 4), mounted in proper relationship to theunits 22 as shown in FIG. '4. The purpose of cams 1% and 1198 will bedescribed in detail under IV and V.

Referring to FIG. 3, the sprocket '36 drives a chain 110 which in turndrives a sprocket 111 rigidly mountedon a drive shaft 112. Four smallgears 113 rigidly mounted on shaft 112 mesh with and drive four largergears 114, each of which is rigidly mounted on one of four shafts 116.Each gear 114 through each' shaft 116 controls a slicer mechanism 24,not shown or described in detail because they are old per se. Foursprockets 117 rigidly mounted on shafts 116 drive four chains 118 whichin turn drive four smaller sprockets 119, connected to gears mountedinside of a gear box 121. The gears (not shown) mounted inside of thebox 121 control a device for oelling apple seeds which is not describedbecause it is old per se. Slides 57, 63 and 64 and the slide above shaft71 are also controlled by the gears 114.

A sprocket rigidly mounted on shaft 85 drives a chain 122 which in turndrives, a sprocket 124 rigidly mounted on a shaft 126. Referring to FIG.2, the shaft 126 continuously drives a gear 127, which has a toothportion 128 and a vertical fiat portion 129. Gear 127 controls theconveyor 28. Portion 128 is a semi-circular bevel gear having teethextending 180 degrees around the circumference thereof, adapted to meshwith and drive a bevel gear rigidly mounted on a shaft 133 which in turndrives a sprocket or pulley 134 (FIG. 1) rigidly mounted thereto. Pulley134 (FIG. 1) engages and drives conveyor 28. Just before the bevel gearportion 128 is rotated free of the teeth of gear 130, an extension 132rigidly connected to gear 130 is brought into registry with flat portion129 of gear 127. The flat portion 129 of gear 127 is adapted to engageand pass vertically over a fiat right end of extension 132 asillustrated in FIG. 2 while gear 127 is being rotated by shaft 126,thereby maintaining gear in a stationary position while gear 127continues to turn. This merely serves to intermittently stop conveyor28. It will be understood that any desired interrupter could be used.When flat portion 129 is disengaged from the flat right end of extension132, the teeth of portion 128 of gear 127 once again mesh with the teethof gear 130 to drive shaft 133, pulley 134 and conveyor 28.

It will be understood that the particular arrangement of pulleys, gearsand cams described above may be varied to give any desired relationshipof speeds, starting and stopping actions, and coordinated operationsbetween the paring apparatus, coring apparatus, conveying apparatus andthe slicing apparatus without departing from the spirit of my invention.

II. Faring apparatus Referring to FIG. 4 when an apple is placed in thecup 30 by the feeder operator, it is centered by a pin or stud (notshown) located in the center of cup 30. The pin is controlled by acounter-balancing weight 135 positioned on the opposite end of a lever135A from the pin. The cup 30 is simultaneously pivoted to the left andmoved upwardly as viewed in FIG. 4 in order to impale the apple on aspiked holder or pronged retainer 136, having three depending prongs forsupporting the apple after being impaled thereon. The upward movement ofthe cup is effected by means of cam 97 and cam 98 mounted on shaft 94and two linkages controlled by cams 9'7 and 98. The cup 30 is rigidlyconnected to a shaft 137 which is aligned by means of a plurality ofbushings 138 rigidly mounted on horizontal members 23 of frame 20. Aretainer ring 139 rigidly mounted on shaft 137 rests on a compressionspring 146 seated in a collar portion 142 of a follower-arm 144. Arm 144has a downwardly extending follower member 146 adapted for engagementwith cam 97. Follower arm 144 is pivotally mounted at 148 in a bracket150 rigidly mounted on one of the horizontal members 23B of the frame.in turn, the spring 140 raises the ring 139, the shaft 137 and the cup30. As the follower arm 144 makes its descent, responsive to the contourof the cam 97, the shaft 137 and cup 30 make a corresponding descent.

The pivotal movement of the cup 30 is accomplished by a second linkagecomprising a collar 51 rigidly mounted on shaft 137, a verticallyextending shaft 152 rigidly mounted in collar 151 and a follower arm 153having a perpendicular extension 155 adapted for engaging cam 98 andhaving a hole adapted for receiving a downwardly extending shaft 152pivotally mounted therein. The follower arm 153 is slidably mounted on ahorizontal member 23C by throughbolts 157 and 153 in a manner permittingshaft 152 to be cammed to the left as viewed in FIG. 4 by cam 97. Atension spring 154, attached at one end to bolt 157 and at the other endto a projection 156 of member 23, opposes the action of cam 98 andthereby maintains extension 155 in an engaging position with cam 98.This second linkage pivots shaft 137 and cup 30 as the linkagecontrolled by cam 97 lifts shaft 137.

Cam 97 is designed so that at the high point of the cam, the apple willbe inserted on the holder 136, a sufficient amount to be pierced by anangular knife 159 designed to cut the skin away from the indentedportion Cam 97 lifts arm 144 upwardly, and

O of the apple surrounding the stem when the apple is rotated on theholder 136.

The motion of 136, upon which the apple is impaled, is controlled bygear 96. Gear 96 also controls the paring and coring units as will beexplained in detail hereinafter and under III.

Immediately after the apple is impaled on the holder 136, a spindle 160,on which the holder is rigidly mounted, is rotated by means of the gear96. A paring blade 224) and a coring blade 231 are also simultaneouslyraised by means of gear 96 into an engaging position with the applebeing rotated on holder 136. Thus, as the apple is rotated it is paredand cored respectively by blades 220 and 231.

The spindle 160 is rotatably mounted on a subframe 172 by bushings 161and the spindle has a small gear 162 rigidly mounted thereon. Gear 162is driven by a large gear 164 rigidly mounted on double bevel gear 166which in turn is driven by gear 96 when the teeth thereon mesh withbevel teeth 169 and gear 166.

The gear 96 has a flat portion 168 not adapted to drive gear 166. Thisgearing arrangement provides a period during which the holder 136 is atrest. During each period, when the holder 136 is at rest, an apple isimpaled on the holder 136 by the above described linkages.

After the flat portion 168 has passed teeth 169, the toothed portion ofbevel gear 96 meshes with the teeth 196 and drives gear 166 which inturn rotates spindle 160 by the above described gearing. Also, as doublebevel gear 166 is rotated, a lower set of bevel teeth 176 thereon meshwith the teeth of a larger diameter bevel gear 174. Double bevel gear166 and bevel gear 174 are rotatably mounted on sub-frame 172 which isrigidly mounted on a horizontal cross member 23 of the main frame andbevel gear 174 rotates on shaft 176.

Referring to FIG. 5, the gear 174 has camming members, hereinafterdescribed, for raising and lowering a jack 178. Jack 178 has two collarportions 179 rigidly mounted on a shaft 180, which shaft is slidablymounted within two bushings seated in two collar portions 182 ofsub-frame 172. Jack 178 also has an extension 181 slidable within atrack 183 rigidly mounted by means of bolts 185 to the sub-frame 172.Thus is provided a means for aligning the jack 178 as it is cammedupwardly and downwardly by gear 1'74. Jack 178 supports a paringmechanism generally indicated by the numeral 184, the function of whichwill hereinafter be described and a coring mechanism generally indicatedby the numeral 186, the function of which will be described under 111.

The gear 174 performs two functions. First, it controls the jack 178 andsecond, it controls an ejector mechanism for ejecting the apple and corefrom holder 136. FIG. 5 illustrates the means by which the gear 174controls the ejector mechanism. Referring to FIG. 5, teeth 17% of gear166 drive gear 174 in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by thearrow 188. The gear 174 has a roller projecting perpendicular theretoand rotatably mounted on a bolt 191. As gear 174 is driven in thedirection indicated by the arrow 188, the roller 190 is adapted toengage an arm 192 and pivot the arm 192 in a clockwise direction asviewed in FIG. 5, about a bolt 193 supported on sub-frame 172 (see FIG.4). Ann 192 is keyed to a lever 194 so that lever 194 also pivots in aclockwise direction when arm 192 is engaged by roller 190. The lever 194actuates the ejector mechanism for ejecting the pared apple and applecore from the holder 136 at the proper time. The operation of thismechanism will be described more in detail hereinafter.

Schematic views of the camming functions of gear 174 for raising andlowering the jack 178 are shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. The gear 174 has astud 196 on the interior portion thereof which is positioned oppositethe roller 190 (see FIG. 8); stud 196, shown in section in FIG. 6, isadapted to engage a cam surface 197 of extension 181 and a track or camsurface 198 of jack 178. In FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, we have used the samenumeral foilowed by different letters to designate the same parts indifferent positions. In the position designated by the numeral 178A andshown in broken line in FIG. 6, the jack is at rest; this position ismaintained while the flat portion gear 96 (FIG. 6) travels tangentallyto teeth 169 of gear 166. During the rest period of jack 178 and gear174, and 196 engages jack 178 at the upper mouth of track 198 as shownat 198A. The shaft 18!) upon which jack 178 is mounted is shown in itslowermost or rest position at 180A. The jack has two studs 129 and 2%,the combination of which serves as a track; the function of studs 199and 200 will hereinafter be described. The collars 179 of jack 178 eachhave a strap support extension 202. A flexible strap 2% is, at one end,attached to one of the extensions 202 and passes over two idler rollers206, pivotally mounted within a support frame 208 rigidly mounted on ahorizontal member 23 of the frame 20. The end of the flexible strap 204opposite where it is attached to extension 202 supports a counterbalanceweight 210 greater in weight than the combined weights of the jack 178and all parts supported thereby. The counterbalance weight 210 maintainsthe jack 178 in an engaging position with studs 196, 199 and 260 andthereby insures smoothness of operation during the raising and loweringof jack 178.

With reference to FIG. 6, as the teeth of bevel gear 96 engage the teeth16? of gear 166 following the rest period of the jack, the teeth 170likewise mesh with the teeth of gear 174 causing the stud 196A to engagetrack 198A and earn the jack 178A to the solid line position shown inFIG. 7. At this position, a cam portion 211B of gear 174 (partly visiblein FIG. 5) makes contact at its lower surface with the stud 199; as gear174 rotates counterclockwise, cam 211 passes between studs 19913 and200B. Referring to FIG. 8, this view shows the various parts includingthe studs 1993' and 202B in the respective positions shown in solidlines in-FIG. 7. Jack 1'78 is cammed upward by cam 211B from theposition shown in solid lines and designated at 178B, FIG. 7', to theposition shown in the broken lines and designated as 17-80 and shown insolid lines in FIG. 6. The broken line portion of FIG. 7 and" solid lineportion of FIG. 6, shows the jack at its uppermost position. At thisuppermost position, the stud: 196 has moved into an engaging positionwith the cam surface 197 of extension 181 of the jack. As gear 1'74continues to revolve, the stud 196 cams the jack downwardly until thejack reaches the rest position shown in broken lines in FIG. 6 where thegear 174 is ready for another revolution and the jack ready to startanother cycle.

Referring to FIG. 4, the raising of the jack 178 as described inconjunction with FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8, effectively controls the paringmechanism 184 for paring the apple while it is being rotated on theholder 1-36. The paring mechanism 184 is old per so so I will notdescribe more of it than is essential to understand its function.

The paring mechanism has a guide member 213 having a longitudinal slot(not shown) therein through which extends a cutter shaft 214. Shaft 214is pivotally connected to a collar portion 215 of the jack 178, andshaft 214 has a substantially perpendicular extension 216 at the leftend of the view of FIG. 4 adapted for engaging a stop 232 which is anextension of sub-frame 172. A tension spring 217 is attached at one endto the extension 216 and at the other end to guide member 213 tomaintain the paring mechanism 184 in an engaging position with the appleduring paring thereof and in opposition to a downward sliding motion ofthe cutter shaft 214 within the slot (not shown)'of guide member 213 asviewed in FIG. 4.

A guide 219 adjustably mounted on shaft 214 is adapted for engaging theouter extremity of the apple and is maintained by spring 217 in anengaging position with the apple while the apple is being rotated on theholder 136. Thus, it will be understood that the combination of thespring 217 and guide 219 maintain a paring blade 220 at a uniform spaceddistance from the contour of the apple during the paring thereof. Boththe paring blade 220 and the guide 219 are adjustable to vary thecutting depth of the blade.

low, I shall describe how this paring mechanism 184 is guided whileparing the apple. A roller 2222 is rotatably mounted on guide member213. Member 213 also has two studs 223 shorter than roller 222 (only oneof which studs is visible in FIG. 4) lying in a horizontal plane asviewed in FIG. 4 and shown at 60 to roller 222. A track 224 constitutingthe forward surface, as viewed in FIG. 4, of an extension 226 rigidlymounted to the sub-frame 172 provides a guide over which roller 222travels as jack 178 is raised or lowered. The rearmost portion 225 ofextension 226 provides a recessed track over which studs 223 slide asjack 178 is moved. When jack 178 is raised by the camming action of gear174 described above, rolier 222 travels vertically on track 224, and thestud 223 which is not visible in FIG. 4 slides over surface 225 until itengages an incline 227 (see FIG. 9), extending from surface 225 to track224. The engagement of stud 223 with incline 227 and the engagement ofroller 222 with a substantially semi-circular recess portion 228 oftrack 224 while the jack 178 is being raisedcauses the guide member 213,the shaft 214 and attached blade 220 to pivot counterclockwise in an arcof as viewed from the leftend with respect to FIG. 4. When the guidemember 213 has been pivoted 90 to a horizontal position, the stud 223which is visible in FIG. 4, engages an incline surface 229 (see FIG. 9).The engagement of this stud with incline 229 and the continuedengagement of rolier 222 (FIG. 4) with recess 228 while the jack 178 isbeing raised causes the guide member 213 and attachments to pivot anadditional 90.

The pivoting of the blade 226) in an arc of 180 while engaging therotating apple, spirally pares the skin from substantiaily bottom end ofthe apple to substantially the top or stem end thereof. After the roller222 reaches the uppermost end of recess 228, it passes over a flatvertical track 230 and the stud 223 visible in FIG. 4 engages surface225. As the roller 222 passes over track 236, the paringmechanism 184 iswithdrawn from an engaging position with the apple. After reaching thetop of its upward stroke, the jack is cammed downwardly as describedabove with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 so that the paring mechanism184 travelsdownwardly across track 234 recess-228, track 224 to itsoriginal position shown in FIG. 4.

As the paring mechanism 184 makes its downward stroke and just beforereaching the lowermost position as shown in FIG. 4, the extension 216engages a stop 232 which pivots the shaft 214 in opposition to spring219 until itreaches the retracted position shown in FIG. 4.

The apple skin pared from the apples by the above described mechanismdrops onto a conveyor belt 241 (FIGS. 1 and 2) which conveys the wasteto the left, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, to a disposal point. The belt241 travels over two drum pulleys 243 and 245 (FIG. 1).

III. Caring apparatus Referring to FIG. 4, as stated above, the coringmechanism 186 is attached to jack 178. The coring mechanism 186 isguided on carnrning surfaces of extension 226 to be described below.Extension 226 is rigidly mounted to sub-frame 172 by two bolts 233.

The following is a description of the apparatus for rotating a coringblade 231 in an arc of 180 to a vertical position and inserting theblade into the apple while it is being rotated on the holder 136 forcoring the apple. Referring to FIG. 5, a back support plate 234, rigidly238 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 10.

11 mounted on jack 178 by two bolts 235, has a stud 236 rigidly mountedthereon, which pivotally supports a stop member 237 (see FIGS. 9 and 10)and a coring blade support plate 238 which are rigidly mounted together.The coring blade 231 is rigidly mounted to plate 238 by two bolts 2441.

Referring to FIG. 9, back support plate 234 is provided with two stopstuds 242 and 244 rigidly mounted thereon by two nuts 246 (see FIGS. andTwo follower studs 248 and 250 are rigidly mounted on plate Studs 24Sand 250 are identical in form, but for purposes of illustration, stud248 is shown in FIG. 9 as a simple circle and stud 250 as a circleshaded by parallel horizontal lines. Referring to FIG. 10, a roller 251rotatably mounted on plate 238 as illustrated, which is longer thanstuds 248 and 250, cooperates with these last mentioned studs toproperly guide the coring blade 231 when the jack 178 is raised. Forpurposes of illustration in FIG. 9, roller 251 is designated by a circleshaded by parallel horizontal lines with a hexagon located in the centerthereof free of shading. Multiple positions of the studs 248 and 250 andof the roller 251 are shown in FIG. 9 to illustrate the course of travelof each stud and of the roller while the jack 178 is being raised by thecamming action of gear 174 described above. I have designatedcorresponding positions to the stud 243, stud 251) and roller 251 bytheir respective designating numerals and a progression of lettersufiixes, corresponding letter suffixes indicate corresponding positionsof the parts.

Referring to FIG. 9, extension 226 not only provides the tracks 224, 228and 230 upon which the paring mechanism 134 is guided, but also providesthe tracks or camming surfaces over which the coring mechanism 186 isguided. A small track portion 252 of extension 7 226, shown in brokenline as viewed in FIG. 9, serves as a camming surface for stud 248 toengage initially on the ascent of jack 178. The roller 251 is guidedover a recessed track portion and track portion 254 of the right handsurface of extension 226. Stud 25% is guided over a recessed track 256comprising approximately onehalf the width of extension 226 as seen inFIG. 10.

In operation, when the jack 178 is at rest while the fiat surfaceportion 168 (FIG. 4) of ear 96 is passing tangentially to and notengaging teeth 169 of gear 166 and an apple is being impaled on holder136, the coring mechanism 186 (FIG. 9) is in the position shown in solidlines.

At the commencement of the ascent of jack 178 and coring mechanism 186,the blade 231 is free of the apple depicted by solid lines in FIG. 9.When the teeth of gear 96 (FIG. 4) mesh with teeth 169, the jack 178raises the coring mechanism 186 (FIG. 9) and the stud 248 is lifted intoan engaging position with track portion 252 and travels upwardly to theright thereon. The engagement of stud 248 with track 252 causes supportplate 238 to pivot about stud 236 until roller 251 engages recessedtrack 253 in the position shown at 251A; at this position of the roller251, the coring blade 231 is in a substantially horizontal position andthe stud 250 is engaging the mouth of recessed track 256, which positionof stud 250 is not shown. As the jack continues to raise the coringmechanism 186, roller 251 follows the contour of recess portion 253 ofthe track until it reaches the vertical track portion 254 at theposition 2513 and the stud 250 follows the contour of recessed track 256until it reaches the position 2508; at this position, the coring blade231 is in a substantially vertical position. After the stud 250 androller 251 reach the B position, there is no further rotation about thestud 236. From the last mentioned position, the stud 250 and roller 251travel vertically on tracks 256 and 254 respecitvely until they reachtheir uppermost position shown at 250C and 251C. At this C" position, Ihave shown the entire core mechanism 186 in broken lines and havedesignated all of the parts of the core mechanism with numberscorresponding to those shown in the lower position followed by thesuffix C." Thus, the core mechanism is rotated 180 about the pivot stud236. As indicated at the position 231C the coring blade is concentricwith and partially surrounds the spiked holder 136.

Due to the close proximity of the blade at 231C with respect to theholder 136 which is rotating during the ascent of blade 231, it isimportant that the blade 231 be accurately maintained in the verticalposition shown at 231C during the entire ascent thereof in order toprevent blade 231 from engaging holder 136. In order to insure thisaccuracy of guidance, the stop member 237 and two stop studs 242 and 244on back support plate 234 have been provided. Stop member 237 has asliding surface 257 (FIG. 10) engaging stop stud 242 when the coringmechanism 186 is in its lowermost position shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Thetubular portion of stop member 237 (FIG. 10) rotatably mounted on stud236, is rigidly connected to pivot support plate 238; therefore, whenthe blade 231 has pivoted 180 and the stud 250 and roller 251 havereached the 8" position, a stop surface 255 (left side of stop member237, FIG. 9) engages the lower stop stud 244, and sliding surface 257engages a guiding surface 258 (see FIG. 10) rigidly mounted to the frame20. The position 237C shows the stop member 237 in its uppermostposition. Although for purposes of illustrating other parts more clearlyin the C position, I have not shown guiding surface 258 in broken lines,it will be understood that surface 258 extends vertically a sufiicientdistance to maintain stop member 237 in a rigid vertical positionbetween stop stud 244 and guiding surface 258 during ascent of coringmechanism 186.

In operation, the apple to be pared and cored is inserted on holder 136by the linkage described in II until the stem end of the apple ispositioned at substantially the point indicated by an arrow 259 (FIG.9). The apple remains at this position while it is simultaneously paredand cored as described above. It is the rotation of the apple on holder136, while the blade 231 is driven vertically through the apple, whichsevers a cylindrical core portion from the center of the apple.

After the apple has been pared and the core has been severed from theapple, the core is ejected from the pared apple and the apple is pushedfurther onto the blade 231. Referring to FIG. 5, the coring blade 231simultaneously reaches the position shown at 231C as roller 190 engagesarm 192 which is effective to rotate lever 194 in a clockwise directionwith respect to FIG. 5. Lever 194 drives an ejector shaft 260 and aconnector arm 264, slidably mounted on shaft 260, downwardly inopposition to a coil spring 262 surrounding shaft 260 and two tensionsprings 263 surrounding a pusher shaft 266. Springs 268 are separated bya ring 270. Ejector shaft 260 is slidably mounted inside a boreextending vertically through spindle 160, and pusher shaft 266 isslidably mounted in two bushings 269, both of which are rigidly mountedto sub-frame 172 (FIG. 4). The pusher shaft 266 (FIG. 5) has a pusherarm 271 rigidly mounted perpendicularly on the bottom end thereof.

The shaft 260 is driven downwardly through the center of spindle 160 andengages the severed core of the apple and drives it out through thebottom of blade 231. The discharged core drops onto conveyor belt 241(FIG. 2) with the apple parings and is conveyed to a disposal point. Bymeans of the above described linkage, the pusher arm 271 engages the topof the apple and is moved to the position 271A. The apple is therebypushed to the position 272 shown in broken lines in FIG. 9. Thesignificant reason for the operation of pushing the apple further ontothe blade 231 will be described in IV. After the apple has been pushedto the position 272, the lever 192 has disengaged from roller 190 andthe ejector shaft 261) and pusher shaft 266 are returned to theiroriginal positions shown in FIG. by the coil springs 262 and 268.

The camming of the jack 172 from the solid line position shpwn in FIG. 6down to the broken line position of FIG. 6 lowers the coring mechanism186 and pivots the blade 231 downwardly about stud 236 to the dependingsolid line position of FIG. 9. When the apple arrives at this positionit has been completely pared and cored ready for further processing.

It is significant that the blade 231 is locked in its lower verticalposition shown in FIG. 9 by the stop member 237 engaging stop stud 242and roller 251 engaging the lowermost portion of the vertical track 254below the recessed portion 253. This insures proper alignment of theblade during removal ofthe apple as described under V. Moreover, it isimportant that in this lower position the blade. 231 is cammed away fromthe path in which apple par-ings fall. This facilitates the separateconveyance of apple parings and pared apples.

IV. Apparatus for maintaining apples in an oriented position prior tobeing transferred to a convey r The primary means by which the apple isretained on blade 231, until the blade reaches the depending positioshown on FIG. 4, is the frictional engagement of the apple with acircular portion 274 of blade 231. This is the significant reason forthe operation of pusher arm 271 described in III and illustrated in FIG.9. The pusher arm 271 pushes the apple onto circular portion 274 wherebythe entire interior circumference of the cylindrical cored portion ofthe apple is frictionally engaged.

Many times, during the coring and paring process, apples are split andcannot be frictionally maintained on portion 274 of blade 231.Therefore, a rocker arm 273 has been provided as auxiliary means forpreventing apples from being prematurely discharged from blade 231 whilethe blade makes its downward stroke described in III. Referring to FIG.4, the rocker arm 273 has a selected curvature approximating the courseof travel of the apple during the last 90 of downward motion of theblade to the position shown in FIG. 4. During the down ward stroke ofblade 231, the rocker arm 273 is maintained in a vertical plane in closeproximity to the blade by the cam 108 in a manner described in V toprevent the apple from falling off the blade 231.

To carry forth the proper orientation of the apple, it is necessary tomaintain the apple on blade 231 until a pin 34 of convey-or 28 stops, ata position directly below the blade, to receive the apple. The blade2.3-1 and a pin 34 arrive in the same vertical plane simultaneously. Arm273 is then pivoted out of the way by the camming action described in Vto permit the transfer of the apple from the blade 231 to pin 34 bymeans described in V.

V. Apparatus for transferring apples to conveyor pins Referring to FIG.4, the apparatus for transferring apples to pins 34 of the conveyorsystem 28 includes the cam 108 effective to pivot rocker arm 273clockwise as viewed from the left end of FIG. 4. This enables the appleto be transferred from blade 231 onto the pin 34 positioned directlybelow the blade. It will be understood that the pins 34 are positionedbelow blade 231 at the broken lines by interrupted motion of conveyor 28described under I. The apple is then transferred onto pin 34 by anejector arm 277 through the linkage described below.

The arm 277 has an extensio 278 (shown in broken lines) pivotallymounted at 279 to a support member 280 rigidly mounted on a horizontalmember 23D of the main frame 20. When a roller 282 rotatably mounted onejector arm 277 is cammed upwardly by cam 106, arm 277 pivots about 279in a clockwise direction with respect to FIG. 4 in opposition to atension spring 284. Spring 284 is attached at one end to ejector arm 277and at its other end to a rod 286 which is rigidly connected tosub-frame 172,

Now referring to FIG. 11, cams 106 and 108 rigidly mounted together andkeyed to shaft 104 rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 11and indicated by the arrow 288 Simultaneously, with the arrival of thecoring blade 231 at the position shown in FIG. 11, the follower roller290 by which the rocker arm 273 is controlled passes from a lowerportion 231 of cam 108 to a. higher portion 292 of earn 108, and therocker arm is pivoted away from the blade. -T he roller 290 is rotatablymounted on an arm 294 keyed to shaft 296 which in turn is rigidlyconnected through an arm member 298 to rocker arm 273,. The left end ofarm 273, as viewed in FIG. 11, has an extensio 229 rigidly mountedthereto in alignment with shaft 296. This extension is rotatably mountedin a bushing 300. Bushing 300 is mounted on a horizontal member 23E.Thus, the rocker arm 273 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction asviewed from the left hand end of FIG. 11 in opposition to a tensionspring 302. Simultaneously, as the roller 290 is cammed upwardly on thehigher port-ion 292 of cam 108, the roller 282 controlling ejector arm277 is also cammed upwardly on a portion 293 of cam 106 to actuateejector arm 277 to push the apple off blade 231 and thereby transfer itto the pin 34 positioned directly below blade 2312 After the apple hasbeen transferred from the blade onto pin 34, the roller 290 passes ontothe low portion 291 of cam 108 and the rocker arm is returned to itsnormal vertical position shown in FIG. 11 by means of a spring 302attached at one end to rocker arm 273 and at the other end and to a rod304 rigidly connected to a horizontal member 23F. Immediately after theejector arm 277 has transferred the apple onto pin 34, it is returned toits original position shown in FIG. 11 as a result of roller 282 beingcammed downwardly by cam 106.

Once the apple has been transferred to pin 34, it is conveyed in themanner described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 12 precedingnumeral I. After the apple has been transferred to the pin 34, the teethof gear 96 mesh with the teeth 169 of gear 166 to commence anotherupward stroke of the jack 178. Thus, is described one complete cycle ofthe operation of this embodiment of our invention.

This is a continuous process with apples being pared and coredalternately on every second paring and coring machine unit 22 incoordination with the interrupted motion of the conveyor 28 to provide amachine whereby a pared and cored apple is deposited on every pin 34prior to passing the point of inspection 35 (see FIG. 2). The fourslicer mechanisms 24 for receiving apples not rejected by the inspectorand the four sliding mechanisms located above these four slicers arecoordinated with the conveyor 28 whereby all the apples being conveyedon pins 34 are discharged into one of the four slicer mechanisms 24prior to all pins passing to the left of shaft 71 (see FIG. 1).

Preferably, the entire machine is driven by a single power source whichactuates all of the working parts of this embodiment of my inventionthrough a series of gears, sprockets, chains, cams and follower rollers,in time-d sequence to accomplish all of the objects of this invention.

It will be understood that the conveyor 28 could be eliminated and thateach apple supported on a blade 231 be transferred directly onto one ofthe slicer shafts 54, 66, 70 or 71.

It will be further understood that many parts are adjustable to vary thetiming of related parts.

While there has been shown and described the preferred forms ofembodiments of my invention, it will be apparent that various changesand modifications may be made therein, particularly in the form andrelation of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention asset forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method for processing apples, comprising the following steps,paring and coring an apple with the stemend up, inverting each pared andcored apple, individually rotating each inverted apple about its coreaxis for inspection thereof, and separating apples requiring trimmingfrom completely pared apples.

2. A method for processing apples, comprising the fol lowing steps,vertically paring and coring an apple with the stem-end up, invertingeach pared and cored apple, individually rotating each inverted appleabout its vertically axis while being conveyed past an inspection areafor inspection thereof, and separating apples requiring trimming fromcompletely pared apples.

3. A method for processing apples, comprising the following steps:paring and coring apples; inverting each pared and cored apple;individually rotating each inverted apple about its core axis forinspection thereof; and separating apples requiring trimming fromcompletely pared apples.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A METHOD FOR PROCESSING APPLES, COMPRISING THE FOLLOWING STEPS,PARING AND CORING AN APPLE WITH THE STEMEND UP, INVERTING EACH PARED ANDCORED APPLE, INDIVIDUALLY ROTATING EACH INVERTED APPLE ABOUT ITS COREAXIS FOR INSPECTION THEREOF, AND SEPARATING APPLES REQUIRING TRIMMINGFROM COMPLETELY PARED APPLES.